Clutch-controlling mechanism.



J. KIEWIGZ.

CLUTCH CONTROLLING MECHANISM.

APPLIOATION FILED DEG. 5, 1913.

Patented May 26, 1914.

WiTnesses.

John Klewicg, I

ywmkm' AIIys.

TED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN KIEWICZ, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THE REECE BUTTON HOLE MACHINE COMPANY, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

CLUTCH-CONTROLLING MECHANISM.

Original application filed May 31, 1912,

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented 11; 26 1914 Serial No. 700,551. Divided and this application filed December 5,

1913. Serial No. 804,932.

chusetts, have invented an Improvement in' Clutch-Controlling Mechanism, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawing, is a specification, like characters on the drawing representing like parts.

This invention relates to clutch-controlling mechanism of that general character disclosed in United States Patents No. 367,063, July 26, 1887, and No. 718.569, January 13, 1903. The clutch mechanisms shown in these patents were designed for use in connection with buttonhole-sewing machinesand they comprise a clutch dog pivotally mounted on one of the clutch members and a clutch-disengaging lug carried by a swinging arm which is normally retained in position to hold the lug out of the path of movement of the. clutch dog, but which swings to 'bring the lug into the path of movement of the clutch dog at such times as the clutch is to be disengaged, the engagement of the clutch dog with the lug operating to disengage the clutch.

Some buttonhole-stitching machines are provided with barring mechanism which is arranged so that when the edges of the buttonhole have been stitched the feed mechanism is rendered inactive and the barring mechanism is thrown into play to form a plurality of elongated barring stitches. A

sewing machine of this nature is shown in my co-pending application Serial No. 700,551, filed May 31, 1912, patented Jan, 6, 1914 N 0. 1,083,896 of which the present application is a division, and the present invention has for its object to provide a clutch mechanism having means which will initiate the clutch-disengaging operation at the time that the edge stitches of the buttonhole' are completed, but will not complete the operation of disengaging the clutch until after the barring stitches have been formed.

. In order to give a proper understanding of my invention I have shown it as it would be used in COllllQClilOIl with a sewing machine such as illustrated in my co-pending application Serial No. 700,551, but I desire to state that with suitable modification'sthe invention could be adapted to other types of sewing ma chines.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a side view of a portion of a sewing machine showing my improved clutch; Fig. 2 is a top plan View of the clutch-disengaging means; Fig. 3 is a section on substantially the line aa, F ig.

,2 showing the position of the parts after the clutch-disengaging operation has been initiated; Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 showing the clutch-disengaging arm in its inop: erative position; Fig. 5 is a fragmentary vlew showing the means for holding the.

clutch-disengaging arm in its inoperative position.

I have shown at '1 the overhanging arm of a buttonhole sewing machine, such as illustrated. in my said co-pending application, Serial No. 700,551, and at 2 the driving shaft from which the stitching mechanism is operated. This driving shaft has mounted thereon a loose pulley 3 from which the shaft is driven, and said pulley is clutched to the shaft by a clutch mechanism similar to that shown in Patents No. 367,063 and No. 718,569. This clutch mechanism includes a clutch dog 4 pivotally mounted at 5 to a hub fast on the shaft and provided with a projection 6 which plays in a cam groove formed in the face of the belt pulley 3, said dog being acted upon by a spring 7 which normally tends to hold it in its operative position in which it will clutch the pulley to the shaft. Inasmuch as this particular form of clutch is fully described in said Patents No. 367,063 and No. 718,569,-

and forms no part of my present invention, I have not deemed it necessary to further describe 1t herein, but I refer to said patents for a more complete disclosure thereof.

. The clutch is disengaged so as to allow the belt pulley 3 to run loose on the shaft by rocking the clutch dog at about its pivot 5, and this is accomplished as shown in said patents by providing the clutch dog with a 'tail 8 which is adapted to be engaged by :1

lug 9 carried by an arm 10 mounted on a rock shaft 11. hen the clutch is in operation and the sewing machine is running the clutch-disengaging arm 10 with its lug 9 is held in its inoperative position shown in Fig. 1, in which position the lug 9 is removed from the path of the tail 8 of the clutch dog 4 so that the clutch dog is free, to rotate with the clutch mechanism. For disengaging the clutch the arm 10 is moved forwardly to bring the lug 9 into the path of the tail 8, and when this occurs said tail 8 will strike the lug 9 thereby rocking the dog to disengage the clutch, all as will be m'adeclear by reference to said above-mentioned Patents No. 367,063 and No. 718,569. The means herein shown for thus holding the arm 10 in its inoperative position is a latch 12 pivoted to the head of the machine and adapted to engage a lug 13 on an arm 14. which is rigid with the shaft 11.

The machine shown in said co-pending applicationSe. No. 700,551 is arranged to stitch the edges of the buttonhole, and when this operation is completed to form a plurality of barring'stitches at the end of the buttonhole. During the formation of the edge stitches there is a relative feeding movement between the work and the stitching mechanism, but when the edge stitching is finished this feeding movement ceases while the stitching mechanism continues its operation long enough to form the barring stitches. The machine shown in said copending application is provided with means which will engage the latch 12 at the end ofthe feeding operation thereby to release-said latch from the lug 13, and when this occurs the spring 15 will automatically turn the shaft 11 thereby moving the arm 10 forwardly. This movement of the arm 10 and rock-shaft 11 stops the feeding movement of the work, but in order to continue the clutch inoperation for the formation of barring stitches, it is necessary to prevent such movement of the rock shaft from disengaging the clutch. This I accomplish with my present invention by providing means i which become active when the latch 12 is released to hold the lug 9 out of the path of movement of the clutch dog 8 during a predetermined number of revolutions ofthe shaft 2 after the latch 12 has been released. The arm 10 has pivotall mounted thereon a finger 16 which is capable of swinging movement, this being provided for by mounting the finger on a shaft 17 which is sustained in bearings 18 carried by the arm 10. This shaft has fast thereon a collar 19 provided with a finger 20, and 21 is a spring which encircles the shaft 17, one end of the spring engaging the finger 20, and the other being secured to the lower bearing 18 for the shaft 17. This spring tends normally to swing the finger 16 toward the pulley3, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 2. This is the normal position of the finger 16 while the machine is in operation. Said finger 16 cooperates with a cylindrical member 23 which is secured to the shaft 2, said member being provided with a spiral groove 24: in its periphery, which groove terminates at its outer end in a notch or recess 25. Then the arm 10 is held in its inoperative position by the latch 12 the arm 16 is held out of contact with the member 23. The length of the finger 16 and the size of the member 23 are .such that when the finger rests against the member the arm 10 is held in the position shown in Fig. 3, in which position the lug 9 is just out of the path of movement of the dog 8 so that so long as the finger16 engages the periphery of the member 23 the clutchdisengaging lug will be held inoperative, as seen in Fig. 3.

In the operation of the device while the sewing machine is running for the formation of edge stitches. the clutch-disengaging arm will be held in its inoperative position by the latch 12, as shown in Fig. 4-. Vhen the edge stitches have been formed. the latch 12 is disengaged from the lug 13 and the arm 10 is given an initial forward movement sufficient to stop the feeding movement of the sewing machine. This initial forward movement brings the finger 16 into engagement with the member 23. the end of said finger entering the groove 24. The engagement of the finger 16 with the member prevents the clutch from being disengaged because said finger holds the lug 9 out of the path of movement of the tail 8 of the clutch dog. The rotation of the member 23, however, causes the finger 16 to travel along in the spiral groove 24., said finger swinging about its shaft 17 during this movement. lVhen the finger reaches the outer end of the groove 24 and comes opposite the recess 25, then the spring acting on the rock shaft 11 will throw the arm 10 forwardly into the position shown in Fig. 1, thereby bringing the lug 9 into position to engage the clutch dog'8 thereby disengaging the clutch. It will thus be seen that in my improved clutch means are provided which initiate the clutch-disengaging movement, but prevent theconsummation thereof for a predetermined number of revolutions after the initiation. In other words, my improved clutchcontrolling member is provided with a device which is normally inactive, but which comes into play when the clutch-disengaging arm 10 is released to prevent said arm from becoming active to disengage the clutch until after a predetermined number of revolutions thereof. I

While I have illustrated herein my invention as applied to a buttonhole sewing machine, of the type shown in my co-pending application Se. No. 700,551, yet I do not wish to be limited to its application to th1s particular type of machine.

Having fully described my invent1on.what

I claim as new and desire to ters Patent is 1. In a device of the class described, the combination with a driving shaft, of a clutch for operating said shaft, a clutch-disengaging member, a latch to hold said member inoperative, means associated with said member for holding the latter inoperative after the latch is released and while the shaft is making a predetermined number of revolutions.

2. In a device of the class described, the combination with a driving shaft, of a clutch on said shaft, a pivoted clutch-engaging member, a latch to hold said member inoperative, a member associated with said clutch and having a spiral groove terminating in a recess, and a finger on the clutchdisengaging member adapted to engage said spiral groove when the latch is released, rotation of said member causing the finger to move into the recess and said finger preventing the clutch-disengaging member from operating to disengage. the clutch while it is in the groove.

3. In a device of the class described, the combination with a driving shaft, of a clutch on said shaft, a pivoted clutch-disengaging member, a latch to hold said member inoperative, a member associated with said clutch and having a spiral groove terminating in a recess, said member rotating with the clutch, and a finger pivotally. mounted on the clutchdisengagmg member and adapted to swing laterally, said finger en: tering said groove when the latch is released whereby rotation of the member causes the finger to move laterally into the recess, said secure by Letfinger when in engagement with the groove thereby to disengage the clutch, and normally inoperative means associated with said clutch-disengaging member and becoming operative when the clutch-disengaging member moves toward its operative position to prevent said member from engaging the clutch dog until after the driving shaft has made a predetermined number of revolutions. 5. In a clutch controlling mechanism, the combination with a driving shaft, of a clutch for operating said shaft, a clutch-disengaging member, means to hold said member in- I.

operative, a spring tending to move said member into its operative position, and means associated with said member and becoming operative after said member is released to hold said member inoperative while the shaft is making a predetermined number of revolutions.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribmg witnesses.

' JOHN KIEWICZ.

Witnesses:

FRANCIS A. SHEA, LOUIS C. SMITH. 

